Breakneck travelling: complete
I've just completed about a month of non-stop travel. I'm glad to be home. I have a mild bit of upper respiratory crud - but really, when you've heard the story, I suspect you'll think I'm as lucky as I think I am...
It goes something like this...
Work sends me to Seattle for a 1-day powow - this necessitates getting on a plane on a Monday afternoon, and spending all day Tuesday at the offices, and then returning late Tuesday night.
It was a good day, and totally worth it. I got to see friends Monday night, and have a run around a pretty lake, along with all the work, which filled my head up to the brim with stuff to think about.
I go to work Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday night I go to the usual stretching class, Thursday I sew (after all, CoCo is the next weekend...!) and then pack for...
Friday. I take off to go to the wedding of eqe's brother and his lovely J, in the greater Boston area. We return Sunday night. For the fashionistas, I wore a 40's garden party dress by Peterman, with bolero.
Thus ends the first week.
I go to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Tuesday night I have a fantastic aerials class, Wednesday is again, stretching, and I sew every night, especially Wednesday night. Late on Wednesday night I throw clothes and costumes into many suitcases in preparation for an early Thursday departure.
Thursday morning I drop eqe at his peninsula offices and keep going south. I get to Costume College around 16:00, which was my planned arrival time. I stop for exactly 30 minutes on the entire drive down to eat peanut butter, honey, and dried fruit rollups on wheat tortillas (which are DELICIOUS, I might add), and to put gas in my little blue rollerskate of a car. Then I drive on.
Project Funway was an absolute BLAST and I sincerely hope that someone will put it on again next year - I might even be willing to step up to that myself if needed. I've never taught at CoCo but the spirit of spontaneous making that was Funway would totally get me to do it. What a hoot! We went overboard trying to make 3 costumes, instead of one, but somehow ended up in 2nd place, which makes me just thrilled to pieces.
I also knocked out a pair of silver grey with white stripe bermuda shorts during the 1940's pants class, and man, if I ever needed proof I was a 1940's body type, that pattern is it. I made it straight off, no alterations, and the hip point is in the right place for me and the waist is in the
right place for me and EVERYTHING. Right. Noted and logged. I stayed to the bitter end, more or less alone save for a certain awesome redhead (angelique1776) who was also working on hers, and even let me try on her sailor pants and I discovered that they fit me?!?! My god, I am running out to find a pair of those at the next Alameda Flea. So. Cute!
Saturday night I wore the silly medieval I worked on. The whole thing was stash.
The dark green underdress was made for the wedding of a few friends some years ago, and is the Butterick medieval pattern: B4827. I opened the sleeves up from the wrist to elbow and lined them in cloth of gold for the event, and made the belt of cloth of gold, with gold trim and some pearls.
So I had the underdress.
howlgirl was cleaning out her stash and gifted me the lovely golden cotton/silk brocade ("Hey, I bet you could get a surcoat out of this...") and we held it up to me and I said "yeah, I think so, maybe..." and so a plan was born. She also had just the scraps of some amazing embroidered golden silk, which became the undersleeves I slipstitched into the green dress)
I used a Simplicity pattern for the surcoat and the undersleeves...it appears to be out of print.
But, the best laid plans... I could get the FRONT, and the BACK (pieced with a CB seam) out of the brocade...and no side panels. I'd already cut it. buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger
So I put it down for the night, and came back the next day, and found some gold cotton velvet that was left over from my Saucy French Postcards costuming work done last year at Dickens Fair, and it matched. Away we went! (and there was just enough to squeeze out THOSE panels as well, so *phew*)
Then I needed trim, which I dug out of the years of collecting gold trim for playing nobles at Ren Fair, and the gold ribbon I used to lace the sides came from the same collection.
It was meant to be. Add in 1 long wig to make up for my A-line, blend the hairline, a tiny bit of china doll makeup, some pretty earrings, and VOILA! "You look like you are twelve."
*giggle giggle giggle*
Photo thanks and credit go to Deborah Borlase, some photos now at the end...
Project Funway
Gala
I gave up on the Tea, because I decided I wanted to get home and get a full night of sleep more than I wanted to go to Tea. Sad but true. I would have worn my Aphrodite costume that I made for PEERS Ball of the Gods if I had gone.
I drove home from CoCo, leaving LA around 11:00, and landed at home in time for dinner. I ate, unpacked, and then slept.
Thus ends Week 2.
I went to work for a full day on Monday. We met our housesitter and had dinner, and then I packed Monday night. Tuesday I went to work with a small rolling suitcase and a backpack, and Tuesday at 4pm we got on BART to head to SFO.
Off to Europe for our summer vacation! We got back Monday night around 17:00.
Thus ends Weeks 3 and 4.
I'm happy to be back, astonished at the amount of stuff I have (having just lived quite happily for 2 weeks on the contents of a small suitcase, in a sweetly but sparsely furnished rented apartment), and looking forward to cleaning out stuff for the Costumer's Bazaar. I will definitely be bringing some full costumes that just don't fit ye olde aerialist's physique anymore, so if we're near to a size, you might score some killer deals! (Off-the-rack size 6-8 petite, FWIW)
Now, onward towards my birthday, Dickens, and the close of the year!
It goes something like this...
Work sends me to Seattle for a 1-day powow - this necessitates getting on a plane on a Monday afternoon, and spending all day Tuesday at the offices, and then returning late Tuesday night.
It was a good day, and totally worth it. I got to see friends Monday night, and have a run around a pretty lake, along with all the work, which filled my head up to the brim with stuff to think about.
I go to work Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday night I go to the usual stretching class, Thursday I sew (after all, CoCo is the next weekend...!) and then pack for...
Friday. I take off to go to the wedding of eqe's brother and his lovely J, in the greater Boston area. We return Sunday night. For the fashionistas, I wore a 40's garden party dress by Peterman, with bolero.
Thus ends the first week.
I go to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Tuesday night I have a fantastic aerials class, Wednesday is again, stretching, and I sew every night, especially Wednesday night. Late on Wednesday night I throw clothes and costumes into many suitcases in preparation for an early Thursday departure.
Thursday morning I drop eqe at his peninsula offices and keep going south. I get to Costume College around 16:00, which was my planned arrival time. I stop for exactly 30 minutes on the entire drive down to eat peanut butter, honey, and dried fruit rollups on wheat tortillas (which are DELICIOUS, I might add), and to put gas in my little blue rollerskate of a car. Then I drive on.
Project Funway was an absolute BLAST and I sincerely hope that someone will put it on again next year - I might even be willing to step up to that myself if needed. I've never taught at CoCo but the spirit of spontaneous making that was Funway would totally get me to do it. What a hoot! We went overboard trying to make 3 costumes, instead of one, but somehow ended up in 2nd place, which makes me just thrilled to pieces.
I also knocked out a pair of silver grey with white stripe bermuda shorts during the 1940's pants class, and man, if I ever needed proof I was a 1940's body type, that pattern is it. I made it straight off, no alterations, and the hip point is in the right place for me and the waist is in the
right place for me and EVERYTHING. Right. Noted and logged. I stayed to the bitter end, more or less alone save for a certain awesome redhead (angelique1776) who was also working on hers, and even let me try on her sailor pants and I discovered that they fit me?!?! My god, I am running out to find a pair of those at the next Alameda Flea. So. Cute!
Saturday night I wore the silly medieval I worked on. The whole thing was stash.
The dark green underdress was made for the wedding of a few friends some years ago, and is the Butterick medieval pattern: B4827. I opened the sleeves up from the wrist to elbow and lined them in cloth of gold for the event, and made the belt of cloth of gold, with gold trim and some pearls.
So I had the underdress.
howlgirl was cleaning out her stash and gifted me the lovely golden cotton/silk brocade ("Hey, I bet you could get a surcoat out of this...") and we held it up to me and I said "yeah, I think so, maybe..." and so a plan was born. She also had just the scraps of some amazing embroidered golden silk, which became the undersleeves I slipstitched into the green dress)
I used a Simplicity pattern for the surcoat and the undersleeves...it appears to be out of print.
But, the best laid plans... I could get the FRONT, and the BACK (pieced with a CB seam) out of the brocade...and no side panels. I'd already cut it. buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger
So I put it down for the night, and came back the next day, and found some gold cotton velvet that was left over from my Saucy French Postcards costuming work done last year at Dickens Fair, and it matched. Away we went! (and there was just enough to squeeze out THOSE panels as well, so *phew*)
Then I needed trim, which I dug out of the years of collecting gold trim for playing nobles at Ren Fair, and the gold ribbon I used to lace the sides came from the same collection.
It was meant to be. Add in 1 long wig to make up for my A-line, blend the hairline, a tiny bit of china doll makeup, some pretty earrings, and VOILA! "You look like you are twelve."
*giggle giggle giggle*
Photo thanks and credit go to Deborah Borlase, some photos now at the end...
Project Funway
Gala
I gave up on the Tea, because I decided I wanted to get home and get a full night of sleep more than I wanted to go to Tea. Sad but true. I would have worn my Aphrodite costume that I made for PEERS Ball of the Gods if I had gone.
I drove home from CoCo, leaving LA around 11:00, and landed at home in time for dinner. I ate, unpacked, and then slept.
Thus ends Week 2.
I went to work for a full day on Monday. We met our housesitter and had dinner, and then I packed Monday night. Tuesday I went to work with a small rolling suitcase and a backpack, and Tuesday at 4pm we got on BART to head to SFO.
Off to Europe for our summer vacation! We got back Monday night around 17:00.
Thus ends Weeks 3 and 4.
I'm happy to be back, astonished at the amount of stuff I have (having just lived quite happily for 2 weeks on the contents of a small suitcase, in a sweetly but sparsely furnished rented apartment), and looking forward to cleaning out stuff for the Costumer's Bazaar. I will definitely be bringing some full costumes that just don't fit ye olde aerialist's physique anymore, so if we're near to a size, you might score some killer deals! (Off-the-rack size 6-8 petite, FWIW)
Now, onward towards my birthday, Dickens, and the close of the year!